“Do you want to take a walk down to the beach? We could take towels and go for a swim?” Rona fiddled with one of the many bracelets on her wrist.
“That sounds perfect to me.”
In my bedroom, I slathered myself with sunscreen and slipped my bikini on underneath my loose t-shirt and linenshorts. I loved hot places and the excitement of getting ready to spend time at the beach.
Adidas sliders and designer sunglasses clad, I met Rona by the outdoor dining area in the garden. She was wearing a multi-coloured tank top, which showed off her toned waist, baggy sport shorts and bright yellow flip-flops. I loved her quirky style and tried not to stare at the gentle definition of her abs.
“How to spot a couple of sapphics in the wild,” Rona pointed back and forth between us. “What they choose to wear to the beach.”
I laughed from my belly, not expecting her to come out with something like that. “What, straight women don’t wear baggy t-shirts and shorts?”
“I think straight women and femmes usually wear maxi dresses or something.”
“Each to their own,” I chuckled. “Well, I have a bikini on under here, so I don’t know if I’m bucking some stereotype or not.”
Rona’s eyes widened for a second, dropping to scan my body momentarily. She didn’t say anything though.
The walk to the beach was quiet. The island had that slow pace that was so relaxing. We headed along a single-track path past some trees, which offered some shade. We took it easy going down the many steps down the hill, especially as we were both in sandals. My knee clicked with each step. Hopefully, Rona couldn’t hear it. I walked behind her, absorbing this new human being I could not believe how lucky I was to have met. Talking to her felt effortless, like we already knew each other. I loved that she loved what she did for a living. We had the same friends. She had experience of success and fame, but it didn’t sit right with her either. Even being in silence with one another alreadyfelt comfortable. I hardly felt that way with people. Something special was happening here, but I tried not to let myself get carried away. It had been less than twenty-four hours since I’d met this woman for goodness sake.
At the foot of the steps, with that salty sea-air on my skin and sand already between my toes, I watched as Rona put her hands on her hips and took in the beautiful beach. I had this overwhelming urge to know what she was thinking and feeling. Like, whatever was going on inside her head was already extremely fascinating to me.
“Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” Rona said.
All I saw was her. “No? What?”
“It’s a nudist beach.”
I scanned the scene. She was right. Everyone was naked. In full glory.
“Look, there’s a sign. They have this section of the beach for three hours every morning, between there and there.” Rona pointed at the flags on sticks stuck into the sand.
“Should we move on to another part of the beach?”
She turned to me. “If that’s okay, yes.”
We stayed near the sand dunes as we headed for the quieter part of the beach and kept our distance from the bouncing bodies enthusiastically playing volleyball, as nice as they were. I had nothing against nudism but wasn’t really in the mood for it right now. I just wanted to talk to Rona.
“It’s amazing to me how some people are able to walk around naked like that. No judgement, at all, it’s just I could never,” Rona said.
“Yeah me neither. Not during the day in public like this.”
“I guess if the paparazzi took a picture of you prancing around naked on a beach they could make a lot of money from it.”
“Oh my God, can you imagine?”
We walked along the beach in the morning sun. It was warming up. I glanced over at Rona, who seemed lost in thought. She seemed like more of a quiet person. In my opinion the quiet ones were always the best.
“Did you ever feel naked when you were out there performing on the pitch in front of thousands of people? Or vulnerable?”
“That’s an interesting question. I never felt naked, no. I don’t think I allowed myself to feel vulnerable, necessarily, on the pitch either. I mean, I left it all out there and everything I did was on full display but I guess I had a way of seeing myself as part of the team and not as an individual. I tried to forget about the crowd, mostly. You have to block everything out and focus. But there were many times when they lifted us as a team and I was very aware of them and grateful for the support.”
“So, it spurred you on?”
“I think it did, yes. But what about you, when you were on stage with your band? I’m guessing you might have felt those things.”
“Yep,” she laughed. “I might as well have been naked. Felt very vulnerable, still do, to be honest. I don’t particularly enjoy it. Not great for someone who makes music for a living.”
As we continued to walk along the beach, I felt like I was learning essential new information about someone who was going to become very important to me. It was crazy how strongly I felt this inner knowing that all this was somehow important.
